VICTORIA — For the past eight years, John Horgan has been the New Democratic Party’s go-to guy on the energy file, taking on successive B.C. Liberal government ministers over BC Hydro rate hikes, private power deals and myriad cost overruns.

Though the NDP critic on liquefied natural gas development has lately been MLA Robin Austin, from long experience and force of personality Horgan was still doing most of the talking on that file even as he assumed the party leadership.

The closing days of the recent legislature session saw the newly selected Opposition leader do a farewell turn as energy critic, drawing a rare compliment from the government side.

“There’s nobody over there who’s going to be able to fill his shoes in terms of being the energy critic and I look forward to that,” said Energy Minister Bill Bennett.

Right you were minister. This week saw Horgan shuffling the lineup of critics he inherited on assuming the party leadership, and he’s determined that no one person will be taking over the energy portfolio.

Norm Macdonald is the new critic for energy and mines. Bruce Ralston takes on natural gas from the aforementioned Austin. The new critic for BC Hydro is Horgan’s predecessor in the leadership, Adrian Dix.

The latter appointment should generate at least a ripple of trepidation on the government side. Dix is readily one of the hardest working, most intensely focused members in the house. On the rebound from stinging defeat in the election and given exclusive responsibility for that one target-rich domain, I have to think he’ll soon be making life miserable at the giant electrical utility.

Some overlap there on the twin vices of booze and gambling. Still, the top-heavy list of assignments acknowledged the rapid rise in NDP ranks of Eby, who defeated Premier Christy Clark in Vancouver-Point Grey last year.

The rookie MLA scored a major hit earlier this year when he exposed how cabinet minister Amrik Virk had flouted compensation disclosure guidelines during an earlier stint on the board of Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

It probably didn’t hurt Eby’s stock with the leader that he started the year by abandoning his own bid for the party leadership and instead co-chaired the Horgan campaign.

The other noteworthy move Wednesday saw Horgan split the shadow cabinet into two teams.

One, dubbed “stronger communities,” combines the major social portfolios that have long been the mainstays of NDP policy-making and its base of electoral support.

Seeing little need for change in that traditional territory, Horgan for the most part stuck with the lineup of critics he inherited: Judy Darcy on health, Spencer Chandra Herbert on environment, Rob Fleming on education, Leonard Krog on justice, Michelle Mungall on social development.

The other team, “economic sectors,” figured more prominently in his thinking, notwithstanding the uninspiring choice of names. For as Horgan himself says, his No. 1 priority is to wrest the economic initiative away from the Liberals and identify the New Democrats more closely with growth and job creation.

Apart from the aforementioned trio on the energy file, the key appointment to the A-team was former leader Carole James as finance critic.

She replaces Mike Farnworth, who never really found his footing in the portfolio. The well-liked MLA (on both sides of the house) becomes critic for public safety, police and corrections. He remains Opposition house leader, the post to which Horgan restored him earlier this summer.

Other members of the economic team include forests critic Harry Bains and Shane Simpson on jobs and development. George Heyman retains responsibility for the green economy and TransLink — another gift that keeps on giving to Opposition critics.

The new occupant in the agriculture portfolio, Lana Popham, should also be fishing where the fish are to be found. It’ll be her job to suss out the consequences of the government’s recent tampering with the agricultural land reserve.

Horgan took a leaf from Premier Christy Clark, issuing mandate letters to his critics as she has done for her ministers.

“I expect you to spend the period leading to the fall legislative session reaching out to and meeting with individuals, businesses and organizations in your portfolio area,” he wrote to all of them.

“Please ensure you have an early meeting with your team, develop a work plan for the period leading up to the (session) and implement that work plan. During the coming months, you will be scheduled to report to (your) team on your work.”

After a year of mostly leaderless drift, it would appear that Horgan intends to bring the Opposition back to a focused footing by fall.

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This just in from the Ministry of Health, in response to my questions earlier in the week about that two-year-old ministry-sought RCMP investigation of various drug researchers and staffers. “It would not be appropriate for the ministry to comment on personnel matters … Questions about RCMP investigations should be directed to them.” The stonewall remains intact.

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